About

Caroline Man Xu has extensive experience leading global and regional cross-functional teams including 10 years at Novartis where she had global responsibilities for new products in the neuroscience, ophthalmology, and oncology fields. Prior to Novartis, she was senior management consultant at McKinsey & Company where she focused on Pharma/Biotech strategy, R&D, M&A, marketing, and operations. Caroline trained as a pharmacologist with over five years scientific drug research at the Medical Center of Columbia University in New York, Technical University Munich (TUM) and Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Caroline has a Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from TUM Munich and an MBA from Cornell University.

For over 20 years, Martin Biel has been a full professor and Chair of Pharmacology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. He is a world-renowned expert in disease mechanisms, gene functions and therapies. Martin is the co-founder and co-speaker of the German retinal gene therapy consortium RD-CURE, he co-led the first ophthalmic gene therapy program from his lab to clinical trials in Germany. He has authored over 160 original publications, over 60 reviews and book chapters. Martin is a member of the Leopoldina German National Academy of Sciences and a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

Martin studied pharmaceutical sciences at Saarland University, where he also gained his Ph.D. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Technical University Munich and he also holds an honorary professorship of Fudan University, Shanghai.

Stylianos Michalakis is Professor for Ocular Gene Therapy at Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität, Munich. He has an outstanding track record and a recognized expertise in pre-clinical and translational retinal gene therapy products from discovery to phase II. Stylianos has more than 15 years of experience in gene therapy and extensive understanding of AAV vector design, engineering, production, gene therapy applications and is principal investigator and co-principal investigator on DFG and NIH grants for retinal gene therapy. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed  publications.

Stylianos has a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from LMU Munich and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at TUM and LMU.

Elvir Becirovic is the Head of Novel Gene Therapy Technologies Group at Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität, Munich. He has more than thirteen years of experience in (molecular) genetics, protein biochemistry, gene functions & therapy. Elvir has a strong track record in functional characterization of retinal disorders in combination with novel applications utilizing AAV vectors. He is principal investigator and co-principal investigator on DFG grants for retinal gene therapy and development of novel AAV vector-based treatment strategies for therapy of retinal diseases. He has authored over 40 publications.

Elvir has a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from LMU Munich, where he also completed his postdoctoral fellowship.

For over 20 years, Martin Biel has been a full professor and Chair of Pharmacology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. He is a world-renowned expert in disease mechanisms, gene functions and therapies. Martin is the co-founder and co-speaker of the German retinal gene therapy consortium RD-CURE, he co-led the first ophthalmic gene therapy program from his lab to clinical trials in Germany. He has authored over 160 original publications, over 60 reviews and book chapters. Martin is a member of the Leopoldina German National Academy of Sciences and a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

Martin studied pharmaceutical sciences at Saarland University, where he also gained his Ph.D. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Technical University Munich and he also holds an honorary professorship of Fudan University, Shanghai.

Gang Pei is cell biologist, professor and the former President of Tongji University, and Principal Investigator and the former president of Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Gang has chaired several scientific committees of China National Key Projects including “Stem Cells and Translational Research”. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Cell Research, honorary President of the Chinese Society for Cell Biology, an academician of CAS, and a member of the Leopoldina German National Academy of Sciences.

Gang received his BSc and MSc from Shenyang College of Pharmacy (China), and his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA). He completed his postdoctoral research in Howard Hughes Institute, Duke University Medical Center (USA).

Director and Chairman of the University Eye Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. Siegfried Priglinger is one of the most renowned ophthalmologists and eye surgeons in the German-speaking region. He has authored over 200 original publications. He is a board member of the European Board of Ophthalmology and the German Ophthalmic Society. He has been the chief editor of the “Klinischen Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde since February 2020”